Conservation of the Forests of Ontario

Celebrating the history of forest conservation in Ontario and Oxford County.

By Liz Dommasch, Archivist

In honour of Earth Day (April 22^nd) I thought I would share the following correspondence Oxford County Council sent to the Ontario Legislative Assembly in 1873:

To the Honourable the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario in Parliament Assemble.

The Memorial of the Municipal Council of the Corporation of the County of Oxford humble showeth:

That among the most enlightened nations of Europe, the conservation of their forests has been carefully maintained by wise and wholesome laws to the manifest benefit of their climatic conditions, as well as their agricultural mechanical and general economic interests:

That the destruction of the forests over a wide extent of the central and northern portions of this Continent has been, and continues to be so rapid extensive and indiscriminate as seriously to create alarm in the minds of thoughtful men, on account of the consequent deterioration of climate, and its attendant injurious effect upon so important a national interest as agriculture; also on account of the rapid increase in price, and at no remote period the scarcity of many economic enterprises of importance:

And whereas, the Legislature of States of the neighbouring Republic have already passed laws with reference to the conservation of forests, and of planting of forest trees, and it is desirable that this Province should pursue a similar course of action.

Your memorialist therefore pray that you will take this matter into serious consideration, and enact such laws as in your wisdom seem calculated to arrest and prevent the evils complained of in their memorial.

And your memorialists shall be duty bound,

Ever pray,

JOHN YOUNGS

Warden

DAVID WHITE

County Clerk

County Council Chamber,

Woodstock, January 31^st, 1873

Although the County sent their memorial in 1873, the Ontario parks system didn’t begin until 1893 with the creation of Algonquin Park, which was originally designed to protect loggers’ interests from settlement. In 1914 the Parks Act was passed that set aside land not suitable for agriculture or settlement, though by 1954, there were only eight provincial parks in existence (Algonquin, Quetico, Long Point, Rondeau, Presqu’ile, Ipperwash, Lake Superior, and what is now known as Sleeping Giant). That same year, the management and creation of provincial parks came under the Department of Lands and Forests. They formed a Division of Parks that herald a new and aggressive program to create more parks, primarily along the Great Lakes and northern tourism highways. By 1960, the Province had a total of 72 provincial parks and as of 2001 that number had jumped to 280, with 9 million visitors annually visiting. These parks now encompass 7.1 million hectares, which is about 9 percent of the province’s area.

In Oxford County, there are a number of tracts set aside for preservation and conservation purposes. One such area, is the W. Leslie Dickson Arboretum located between Woodstock and Innerkip which was the product of a group called “The Men of Trees” and named after former County Warden, Les Dickson, who was committed to woodlot management and the preservation of native Canadian trees. The arboretum includes many species of Carolinian trees and well over 150 native trees and shrubs have been labeled.

Portrait of Oxford County Warden W. Leslie Dickson, 1973

Beginning in 1970, Earth Day is an international event celebrated around the world to pledge support for environmental protection. This year’s theme is “Restore our Earth” and focuses on ways that we can restore the world’s ecosystems and forests, conserve and rebuild soils, improve farming practices, restore wildlife populations and rid the world’s oceans of plastics. This April 22^nd, I hope you have an opportunity to visit some of the nature tracts and conservation areas in the County and surrounding areas and are able to reflect on ways that we can all protect our planet.

Image credit: 1893 Survey of Park Lands prepared by the Department of Crown Lands and Resources. This image is available from the Archives of Ontario under the item reference code RG 1, B-43-06.